Seated in the office of their family obstetrician are Maia Rahi (played by Tala Ashe) and her husband Avi Rahi (played by Adam Rodrigueza). Maia is pregnant with her second child. The couple is about to be told that Maia has to have an abortion if she wants to live. Notice the fear on Maia’s face. In the blink of an eye, the scene transmogrifies, and she is sucked down into the couch by a vortex in a scene that this reviewer believes needs to be labeled: An-OMG!-Is-This-Really-Happening?
BEFORE YOU is a short film told in a riveting, viscerally kinetic story telling style by a director concerned about one of the nation’s most pressing issues and the director captures on every level the essence of anxiety, psychological trauma in a stunning, surrealistic anecdotal fashion. A woman needs an abortion because her pregnancy is not viable, and her life is at risk if she doesn’t. In the United States, when an abortion is a serious consideration, medical procedures are restricted or banned in 14 states of the country.
Non-linear story telling techniques, phantasmagoric and kaleidoscopic imagery, surrealistic and an evocative, minimalistic soundscape (with occasional nuances of a fetus heartbeat), and a dab of cinematic accoutrements will have slews and slews of audience members gasping and fidgeting (literally and figuratively) on the edge of their seats.
Audience members will feel as though as they are being whisked through visual and sensory dimensions of time and space reflecting the emotional states of a mother-to-be under pressure to consider an abortion. Maia may be talking to her husband in one scene when the cinematography segués to another portal where she is involved in some other activity. The filmmaking is mesmerizing and one dare not blink. There are moments when it appears that the character Maia and the actress Tala Ashe are sharing a moment in real and cinematic times.
Succinctly synoptic: A couple’s doctor tells them the wife has to have an abortion because the fetus is experiencing a possible fatal functional disorder, and audience members will see, feel, empathize and sympathize with Maia’s torment in a film unlike any they have seen in recent memory.
Maia in a dreamy pillow talking scene with her husband.
BEYOND YOU is obviously timely if not a Jungian synchronicity in a period when the topic, subject of abortion is in conversations, commentaries, news story and other venues. Yet, it is often misportrayed, according to this film director, in media with shame, trauma and political undertones. Emergency and medical procedures for abortion are banned in 14 states, resulting in women forced to deal with nightmarish medical quagmires.
Phantasmagoric and kaleidoscopic imagery in movies can render surreal, dreamlike qualities using distorted or fragmented visuals, vibrant colors, and shifting patterns to represent characters’ inner worlds, or a psychedelic experience, or a fantastical setting. In the hands of the right director they enhance the story telling of a movie, raising the story telling to a transcendent plane were the film experience for audiences is incredibly heightened. The trailer below provides a hint of the magic that a visionary award winning director can do in 17-plus minutes.
Audience reminder: Short films are cinematic works that can run 40 minutes or less, including narrative and experimental films. Unlike feature-length films, they aim to convey a story in a concise and focused manner, often exploring just a single theme or idea in detail. This brevity can lead to experimental storytelling techniques and a strong emotional impact. Due to their limited runtime, short films often concentrate on a single theme, idea, or character.
They also offer a platform for filmmakers to experiment with narrative structure, visuals, and storytelling techniques. Despite their brevity, short films can be powerful and emotionally resonant due to their concentrated storytelling approach. Short films can be found in various genres, including narrative, experimental, documentary and animated.
Click here for Part 2: Q&A with Director Laura Melinda
the WORD Editor, Reviewer Gregg W. Morris